The Hon. Minister of Finance, Dwight Duncan has delivered the Liberal government’s 2012-13 budget; Strong Action for Ontario. The focus is to achieve a balanced budget by 2017-18 through a five-year plan that focuses heavily on a priority commitment to education and healthcare, significantly reducing program spending and containing costs across the public service sector. For every $1 in new revenues collected in 2012, there is $4 of expense measures being taken. The government has noted that debt interest payments is the 3rd largest expense in the budget and has found measures that will reduce borrowing by more than $3 billion over 6 years. The full budget paper is available here. The GTHA Budget Analysis is available here.

 The Quebec government announced in its budget this week that they are investing $465 million over the next 5years for tourism infrastructure and programs. This is in addition to money set aside for transportation and culture. Of note in the budget was $240 million towards a tax credit for renovation work on accommodation properties outside of Quebec City and Montreal, and a $22.5 million increase over 5 years to a program offering financial assistance for major festivals and tourist events. More info on the budget is available here.

British Columbia has eliminated the aviation fuel tax for international flights reducing costs for airlines and increasing the province's tourism competitiveness to bring more flights into the region. The full story is available here.

The Ministry of Tourism Cutlure & Sport has reported that in 2011 more than 9 million hotel rooms were sold with over 10 million overnight visitors coming into the GTA. Increases in the number of overnight visitors from the United States and around the world drove numbers up while, by comparison, overseas arrivals in the rest of Canada declined in 2011. Other 2011 highlights include:

• Ontario enjoyed a 39.6 per cent market share of all overseas visitors to Canada.

• The biggest growth in overseas visitors to Toronto is from China (34.5 per cent increase), India (13.2 per cent), Italy (9.3 per cent) and Brazil (9.2 per cent).

• With 1,118 new hotel rooms, Toronto's 3.4 per cent growth in hotel room inventory followed only New York City (up 5.5 per cent) and Nashville (up 4.2 per cent) in North America.

• Travel & Leisure Magazine has listed Toronto as one of its Hottest Travel Destinations of 2012

Michael Chan, Minister of Tourism, Culture & Sport announced today that Ontario Place, including the waterpark, amusement rides and the Cinesphere will be closed which will save the government $20 million annually. The Molson Amphitheatre, Atlantis, marina and parking will remain open until construction begins on the revitalization project. Ontario Place will be ready for the 2015 Pan/Parapan Am Games and the rebuilding will be completed in time to celebrate Canada's 150th anniversary in 2017.  John Tory, Chair of CivicAction, has been appointed to lead a panel that will advise the government on the redevelopment of the site. More information is available here.

StatsCan’s third quarter national tourism indicators show that tourism spending in Canada increased 0.8% in real terms. This was the ninth consecutive quarterly increase in tourism spending, for a cumulative gain of 8.2%. Driving the increase was higher spending by Canadians at home (+1%).  Gains were seen also seen in accommodation employment (+2.9%) and moderately in accommodation GDP (0.7%). A detailed table can be found here. More information is available here.

Recently a group of GTHA members attended the GTHA Speaker Series seminar on Fire Code Compliance.  The Ontario Fire Marshall’s Office led this update for Section 9.9 Hotels to provide information on the January 1, 2012 final phase of the 5 year compliance schedule and an overview of the updates since the schedule came into effect in 2007. Those attending received lots of valuable information and had their questions answered. The slide deck is available here.  For the full compliance schedule visit GTHA Legislative Updates/Fire Safety.

Businesses must now be in full compliance with the Accessible Customer Service Standard as of January 1^st as part of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). Compliance information and a toolkit to help your hotel become compliant are provided here.

Register by Friday, January 6th to save $200 off the registration price for this year's HAC Conferenence which runs from March 5-6th in Toronto. The Conference is packed with networking opportunities and the latest information on trends and timely topics of interest to get you thinking about your business in 2012. This year’s conference headliners are David Suzuki speaking on "What does being green mean" and Chip Conley, Founder and Executive Chairman, Joie de Vivre Hotels. Registration and program details are available here.

The Ministry of Labour (MOL) is proposing a new regulation under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) to assist workers who believe they have been punished by their employer for raising a health and safety issue.  The proposed regulation would also assist small employers who are responding to a reprisal allegation made by a worker.  The proposed new regulation is part of a MOL initiative to implement recommendations of the Expert Advisory Panel on Occupational Health and Safety. The MOL is currently consulting on the proposed regulation.  More information is available here.

Premier Dalton McGuinty has announced that construction will begin this spring for the new three-kilometre Air Rail Link 'spur line' connecting downtown Toronto to Pearson International Airport. The service between Union Station and Pearson will branch off the Georgetown south corridor and connect to a new passenger station at Terminal 1. Construction of this portion of the Air Rail Link is expected to be completed by summer 2014 and the Air Rail Link will be in service in time for the Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan Am Games. More information is available here.

Premier Dalton McGuinty has announced that Michael Chan, Minister of Tourism and Culture, will assume responsibility for the portfolio of sport in the province.  Aligning tourism, culture and sport brings together marquee and blockbuster events and athletes, coaches, officials and sports organizations.  Ontario is preparing to host the 2015 Pan/Parapan Am Games with an expected 10,000 athletes, coaches and delegates from the Caribbean and Central, South and North America attending to compete in 48 sports. More information is available here.

Two action plans: Beyond the Border initiative and Regulatory Cooperation Council have been released to improve security and the flow of goods and people across the Canada‐US border. The Beyond the Border action plan  aims to enhance security and economic competitiveness, the Regulatory Cooperation Council will work to better align our countries’ regulatory approaches in the areas of health, safety, and the environment.More information on the Border Action Plan is avialable here.

The total number of rooms in Toronto has increased 3.1 per cent from last year, which is the third largest increase among major North American cities.

Increase in Room Supply from 2010 to 2011 (through July)
1.   New York City: +7.2%
2.   Nashville: +3.4%
3.   Toronto: +3.1%
4.   Houston: +2.6%
5.   Denver: +2.0%
6.   Seattle: +1.7%
7.   Washington, DC: +1.6%
8.   Miami: +1.3%
9.   Ottawa: +1.2%
10. Dallas: +0.8%

Source: Smith Travel Research